Itinerary in brief:
- 3 nights Portland
- 1 night Mount Hood
- 2 nights Bend
- 1 night Crater Lake
- 2 nights Ashland
- 1 night Coo’s Bay
- 1 night Newport
- 2 nights Cannon Beach
Day 1: Depart UK
Depart the UK from your chosen airport. On arrival in Portland, you will make your own way into the city and check into your hotel for three nights.
Included: International flight, hotel
Days 2 & 3: Portland
You have two days to explore Portland so why not start with breakfast! Portland is a city that loves to eat – the best way to spend your time here is to hop between cafes, breweries and restaurants, tasting the delicious fare on offer. Portland champions ‘farm-to-fork’ food, grown in the lush farmland of Oregon and served up beautifully in restaurants like Clyde Common so why not enjoy lunch before taking a walk through the Hoyt Arboretum and stopping in at the popular Portland Zoo.
On your second day, you could grab a snack from Voodoo Doughnuts before enjoying a tour of Portland’s many craft breweries that make their home in here, tasting and learning about beer! If you’re more of a wine aficionado, Oregon is famous for its pinot noir so sit back and settle into one of Portland’s slick wine bars to try them out.
Included: Hotel, craft beer tour
Day 4: Drive to Mount Hood
This morning you’ll pick up your rental car and drive out of Portland towards the Hood River Valley, in the lush countryside of rural Oregon. It’ll only take you a couple of hours of easy driving along the river to get to the valley, where you will check into your hotel for one night. Make sure you stop off to view the majestic Multnomah Falls, before spending the afternoon hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. Heading closer to the mountain, try the Tom, Dick and Harry Mountain hike where you should get spectacular views of Mount Hood reflecting in Mirror Lake. If you want even more views of the mountain, get out on the water and rent a canoe on Trillium Lake. There are plenty of vineyards in the area, so try and find a local wine to enjoy tonight, you could even rent a bike go for a cycle through the vineyards if all that hiking hasn’t tired you out!
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 5: Drive to Bend
Spend the morning enjoying the small town of Hood River – why not grab breakfast and walk along the riverfront, where you’ll often see windsurfers and kiteboarders taking advantage of windy conditions and strong currents. Later on, you’ll drive south to Bend, where you’ll check into your hotel for two nights.
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 6: Bend
Take in the tiny town of Bend where you’ll spend most of your time in the great outdoors – we’ve included a kayaking tour for you to take in the best of the Cascade Lakes. Make sure you wear your swimwear so you can jump in for a dip in the clear water, all the while looking out for otters in frolicking in the lake and eagles overhead. After a morning of paddling in the coves and bays of this mountainous landscape head back into town and spend the afternoon exploring. You could follow the Bend Ale Trail to get an introduction into the local tipples or wander through the small town - you’ll find independent record and bookshops that sit alongside light strung bars twinkling in the dark mountain evenings.
Included: Hotel, hire car, kayaking tour
Day 7: Drive to Crater Lake National Park
Today you’ll head south towards Crater Lake National Park. It’s a winding road of forest passes for two hours before you arrive at the lake. Once you arrive, you could go for a long hike around the lakeshore before enjoying a scenic drive that will take you to a higher elevation with views down to the blue water below. On arrival, you’ll check into your hotel for one night so make sure you take in as much of the park as possible before driving onwards tomorrow.
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 8: Drive to Ashland
This morning you’ll drive down to the pretty town of Ashland, home to the world-famous Shakespeare Festival and a hub of culture and arts in Oregon. Surrounded by endless forests and mountains, this small town is well known for staging the plays of the bard between February and November so make sure you catch a performance if you can, before exploring the historic railroad district where new art galleries and restaurants are popping up each day. Rafting on the Rogue River is also a very popular way to spend the afternoon – make sure you finish your day with a glass of local Applegate Valley wine, all good preparation for tomorrow.
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 9: Wine Tour
Get stuck into this lush wine region - today we’ve included a Wine Hopper tour that will take you on a through a local Southern Oregon vineyard – from exploring the barrel room to walking amongst the vines, learning about the grapes and soil – today you will take you behind the scenes of an active winery. In the evening, you can relax at your hotel, perhaps with a glass of wine you’ve bought today!
Included: Hotel, hire car, wine tour
Day 10: Drive to Coo’s Bay
Today you’ll drive to the ocean and start your journey along the Pacific Coast Highway and the Oregon coast. You might think you can only find Redwoods in northern California, but a few small groves can be found in the Rogue River National Forest – perfect for those who want to see these enormous trees. Once you hit the coast though, you’re in for a few days of windswept beaches, lonely lighthouses and beachside towns. You’ll check into your hotel in Coo’s Bay for one night but make sure you get out and explore as much of the southern coast as possible – Harris Beach, Cape Blanco and Sunset Bay are just a few examples of rugged beaches just waiting to be discovered.
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 11: Drive to Newport
Heading north today, it’s all about the drive. Stop in at the Umpqua Dunes for otherworldly views before enjoying a delicious lunch of crab cakes in Florence. Take a wander through the small town – if you want to get out and explore we can book a horse riding tour along the beach, a great way to unwind and soak in the views. Once you reach Newport, why not head to the Oregon Coast Aquarium to learn about life on the rocky shore and spot otters, sea stars and moon jellies. Check into your hotel for one night and head to the beach to watch the sunset into the ocean.
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 12: Drive to Cannon Beach
Slowly drive north on the leisurely drive to Cannon Beach. We recommend you go grocery shopping in Newport and make up a delicious pack lunch – there will be so many spectacular viewpoints along the way that you’ll want to stop and take it all in throughout the day. The otter crest viewpoint at Cape Foulweather is an especially lovely one. Once you reach Cannon Beach, you’ll check into your hotel for two nights, but you could always head up to the unique town of Seaside for dinner and an evening of fun o the traditional arcade, complete with bumper cars and carousel!
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 13: Cannon Beach
Spend your day here enjoying this beautiful beach. Made famous by an iconic scene in the Goonies movie, this long stretch of sand is perfect to try to stand up paddle boarding or kayaking. At low tide, you can walk right out to Haystack Rock, where pink and purple starfish cling to the sides usually hidden under the water. You could also take a stroll through this tiny beach town, past picturesque shops and cafes before taking a picnic to the beach and watch the sun set into the sea.
Included: Hotel, hire car
Day 14: Depart Portland
Take one last walk along super-scenic Cannon Beach as the sun rises before making your way back to Portland in time to catch your flight home.
Included: Hire car, international flight
Day 15: Arrive UK
Why not add in a stopover in Iceland, where you can explore Reykjavik & the Golden Circle
